As if he knew we were talking about him, Jackson came running by our table, doubled back, then slid in between me and Amelia on the bench seat.

Amelia flipped over the paper of names in front of her and exchanged a confused look with me.

“Do I blend in?” he whispered.

“What?”

“Will Colton notice me here?” His eyes met mine, sparkling with joy. I couldn’t help but smile.

I broke his gaze to look around, and just as I was about to ask him what he was talking about, saw Colton, a big football player, barrel into the courtyard.

“What did you do to him?” Amelia asked.

“Milk in a backpack is nowhere near as bad as milk in a gas tank. Wouldn’t you agree, Moore?”

I laughed.

“I could totally take him,” Jackson said. “But I don’t want to embarrass him.”

I nudged his leg with mine. “Sure you could.”

He nudged me back and left his thigh pressed there against my leg. That small act made my insides flip. He picked up one of my chips, raised it in the air toward Colton, and gave him that sly smile of his before he popped it in his mouth.

Colton narrowed his eyes. “Jackson, you’re a dead man.”

“You know you deserved it,” he called back.

Colton didn’t disagree. He just scowled and walked away.

Jackson put an arm around both me and Amelia and brought us into a group hug. “Thanks for the diversion, ladies. You were perfect.” With that, he stood and was gone again.

“See, he’s everywhere,” Amelia said.

I narrowed my eyes and watched him disappear around a building. “You’re right. You were also right about something else—he is kind of funny, I’ve decided.”

Her head whipped toward mine. “What?”

“What? You disagree now?”

She shook her head and flipped the paper back over. “Okay, back to the case. You have still been private messaging Heath Hall, right?”

“Yes.”

“Is there a way you can use this new intel to figure out which one he is?”

“I think, yes.”

She smiled. “And I’ll talk to the two guys this week and see what I can do from my end.”

“You’re going to ask them if they’re Heath Hall?”

“No, I’ve learned my lesson about that. They won’t admit it. I’ll be more subtle.”

“I can take on one of them too. I mean, you don’t have to try to crack both,” I said, focusing on a chip in front of me.

She smiled. “Which one, Hadley? Was there one in particular you want to handle?”

“I hate you.”

She laughed. “You’ve totally been Jacksoned.”

“I have not.”

She smirked. “Okay, you can have Jackson. I’ll deal with Robert.”

She stacked her loose papers and put them in her backpack. “So what actually happened? I thought Jackson annoyed you.”